


Play On

by Caprichoso



Category: Teen Titans, Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-10
Updated: 2013-01-22
Packaged: 2017-11-24 09:12:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/632774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caprichoso/pseuds/Caprichoso
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A selection of one-shots inspired by random songs but left to mature beyond the ubiquitous "shuffle challenge". Touches on many points of view, including villains and uncommon characters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to a series of song-inspired one-shots done my way. That is to say, I'm taking the ubiquitous "shuffle challenge" but putting my own twist on it. I'll listen to a song that shuffle brings me, but rather than writing as the song plays and stopping when it ends, I will listen to it in its entirety, analyze it, and write a story that fits. I'm challenging myself to incorporate at least one line or turn of phrase from each song into the corresponding story, so my challenge to you all is to listen to the songs and find the bits I've borrowed.
> 
> The continuity hops frequently, but should be easy enough to follow if you're familiar with the show. Many will be based after Things Change.
> 
> This should be updated far more frequently than most things I write; it's easier to do, and it makes for good practice. I can't guarantee I'll be proud of all of these, but they'll at least be something.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or any of these songs.

**Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word- Ray Charles and Elton John**

The ice wasn't helping.

Raven could tell that much from her vantage point on the couch, where she had been on the same page for the ten minutes her book had been open.

Beast Boy sat on the far end of the same couch with his back turned to her, an ice pack pressed against the growing lump on the back of his head. The occasional groan would escape his lips, followed by a growl as he pressed the ice against the wound harder.

It was painful to watch. The worst part, however, wasn't what she saw, but what she felt.

The emotions surrounding the green shapeshifter were jagged and sharp as broken glass, radiating out from him like a porcupine's quills to keep out everyone and everything.

Raven slammed her book shut and strode over to her teammate. "For the last time, Beast Boy, let me heal—"

Faster than she could blink, the changeling was on his feet, eyes blazing as his rage and hurt slammed against her shields. "No, Raven, I will not let you heal this! You obviously thought I deserved it, so it stays!" He winced and pressed the icepack against his head again. "It's the same sad situation every single time, Raven. I make you mad, you beat me up, you feel bad about it, you heal me. It's absurd. This time, we're both going to live with the consequences of your actions."

Mouth working as she searched for an explanation, Raven found herself staring at the ground. "I... I didn't mean for it to—"

"You threw me into a  _wall_ , Raven. You know how solid the Tower walls are, and you threw me backwards into one. There are only so many ways that can turn out."

"I didn't think—"

Beast Boy laughed, a harsh, grating sound that was nothing like the laughter that held their team together. "Yeah, that's right. That's usually my line, isn't it? But when I don't think, nobody ends up having to get their head x-rayed for fractures. And everybody thinks  _I'm_  the stupid one."

Shame poured over Raven, soaking her from head to toe in hot and cold. She wanted nothing more than to phase through the floor, but she was desperate to make things right this time.

"Look," she began, "You know I didn't mean for you to get hurt so badly. Why can't you just accept my apology and let me heal you?"

He gave her a venomous smirk. "Apology? Really?" Shouldering past her, he walked down the hall. As Raven was about to follow, his raised voice echoed back to her. "When was the last time you ever said the words, 'I'm sorry'?"

Every lightbulb in the tower flickered and exploded.


	2. All Things Considered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These are cross-posted from FF, because I'm looking for more constructive criticism in order to improve my writing. If you have any thoughts on these pieces, however unkind they may seem, please share them with me.
> 
> I generally won't touch country music with a ten-foot pole, but this song showed up in my library somehow, and I'm actually quite fond of it.
> 
> Disclaimer: Again, I fail to own the Teen Titans.

**All Things Considered- Yankee Grey**

The common room had been rebuilt, all the damage from the robotic army's assault patched and painted over. New furniture was in place, still wrapped in plastic; the Titans in the room were unwilling to remove it without their last member present.

No one had seen Beast Boy for three days. The green boy had locked himself in Terra's room and jammed something into the door controls so that nothing short of breaking it down would allow entry. Cyborg had considered doing just that, but Robin had insisted that they give Beast Boy time to heal on his own.

There was, however, the issue of nutrition. The few stashes of food Terra had kept in her room out of habit would not hold Beast Boy for long; he needed protein, and lots of it. His shapeshifting required large amounts of available amino acids in order to make the necessary changes rapidly and with less pain. Cyborg always feared what might happen if his best friend's unstable DNA needed more amino acids than he had available; he had nightmares of coming home to find a puddle of primordial soup that would never again shift back into his little buddy.

Therefore, Cyborg had overcome his distaste for tofu enough to prepare food for his friend. Three times a day, he would transform a block of the white gunk into the best meal he could make: tofu burgers with all of BB's favorite toppings, Caesar salad piled high with blocks of seared tofu, tofu with apricot and onion sauce over rice (a tribute to his own grandmother's chicken recipe). He had even looked up African dishes and found a Lamumban peanut stew that he deemed to have sufficient protein for Beast Boy's dietary needs.

Raven had volunteered to be the delivery system for these meals; she would knock twice on his door, then phase a tray with the dish through onto the floor. She didn't tell any of the others, but it was getting progressively more difficult to find a space on the floor that wasn't already occupied by one of the trays. It appeared the food was going untouched.

And so they all stood in the common room, unsure of what to do next. Starfire was eager to knock on friend Beast Boy's door to invite him to the ritual of removal of the wrap of plastic, but the others were concerned about trying to pull him out of his room too early. All of them were still showing emotional wounds from Terra's betrayal, and that might not be the best environment for Beast Boy.

As they stood around in silence, trying to find a solution, the clatter of dishes from the kitchen snapped them out of their joint reverie. Beast Boy, looking haggard and thinner than they had ever seen him, was organizing his stacked dishes to begin washing them.

Starfire flew over and seized the green boy in a hug, nearly causing him to drop the last bowl. "Friend Beast Boy! It is joyous to see you once more! Please, allow me to do the washing of my friend's dishes. I have been missing you so very much and unable to help you these past days."

With a weak smile, the changeling nodded and extricated himself from the hug to wander over to the others.

Cyborg had quickly scanned the plates and found that the majority of the food had gone largely untouched, with two exceptions. As he pulled the Grass Stain in for a hug, he heard mumbling from his chest. "Y'know, Cy, if I'd known I could get you to cook tofu, I'd have locked myself in my room a long time ago."

Chuckling for his friend's benefit, he pulled away and held him at arm's length. "Nah, this was a one-time deal. Next time you do that, you're gettin' nothin' but baby back ribs till you come out."

"Fair enough." The green young man scratched at the back of his head, looking down at the ground. "I thought you said Grandma Stone's apricot and onion sauce would never touch tofu."

Cyborg smiled. "Well, maybe that rule can slide every now and then. And how'd you like the peanut stew?"

Tears shone in Beast Boy's eyes, but he had a tiny smile on his face. "It tasted just like the one King Tawaba used to make... thank you, Cy."

His own eye welling up, Cyborg swiped at his face with a knuckle. "None of that, now, String Bean. You're gonna make me rust here."

With a pat to his friend's shoulder, Beast Boy turned to face Robin.

"The common room's all fixed up, Beast Boy. All that's left is pulling the plastic off the couch, and you'll be back to playing Mega Monkeys 4. Care to do the honors?"

Beast Boy nodded, then transformed into a cat and began tearing at the plastic, shredding it to ribbons as the Titans' leader watched with satisfaction. It seemed Beast Boy was slowly getting back to normal.

Raven stood to the side, observing Beast Boy's behavior closely. Robin might be fooled, but she could feel the rage and hopelessness pouring out of the cat as it attacked the wrapping. There was no playful spirit to this; only catharsis. Still, that might be just what he needed at the moment.

When he shifted back to his normal form and stood panting, Raven approached and pulled him into a hug. It was not a long, lingering hug, but it was a hug nonetheless— not something given lightly. She felt mild shock from him before the warmth of friendship and gratefulness shone through.

"How do you feel, Beast Boy?" The question was as uncharacteristic of her as the hug, but she felt it necessary. No one else would get the degree of honesty from him with that question that she would, and so she took it upon herself to ask. That wasn't to say, however, that she didn't ram the strongest shield that she could quickly form into place.

His ears drooped, and the flood of painful emotions she had expected crashed into her. She was glad she had prepared for it; the backlash would likely have destroyed the common room again.

"All things considered..." the changeling's voice cracked, and she saw his fang pierce his lip as he tried to suppress his emotions. "All things considered, I'm doing just fine." He forced a grin onto his face, and though Raven saw the effort it cost him, though she knew it was all a sham put on for his friends' benefit, she made herself return the smile. She even ignored the trickle of blood running down his chin.

Beast Boy was smiling again. That smile held the team together. That was what mattered for now.


	3. Something We Can't Be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is set at the end of Calling All Titans. Robin is hard to write for me, but occasionally it clicks.
> 
> Project 86 is one of my few favorite remnants from my days of listening to Christian music: interesting time signatures run with military precision, lyrics that aren't abysmally trite, and just an all around great thing to have playing most days. This particular song isn't their best, but it fits the end of the episode. I'd personally recommend Hollow Again or One-Armed Man (Play On), the latter of which is partly responsible for this collection's title, along with Shakespeare. Also, after struggling with this for the past ten minutes and trying every html and rich text trick I can think of, I can't seem to make it align left. Do chapters under a certain word count automatically center? I suck at AO3.

 

 

**Something We Can't Be- Project 86**

The chessboard was set, and the white pieces were dropping faster than Robin could track. In his head, he heard Batman's voice in a chorus alongside his own, berating him for his lack of foresight. How could he have been so naïve as to believe his team of teenagers, barely more than children despite their powers, could handle a team of supervillains that had soundly beaten even the Doom Patrol?

He should have called the Justice League. Threats-to-the-World-Only requirement be damned; the Brotherhood of Evil had their sights set on eradicating an entire generation of superheroes. That in itself was a threat to the world at large. What would happen when Earth's protectors grew too old to fulfill their duties, and there was no one to take the torch from them?

If he was to be honest with himself, he knew it wasn't any adherence to the rules that had kept him from asking for help. It had been his pride. Pride had sabotaged him with Slade, and his promises to his team that he would learn from the mistake had proven hollow.

But was it so wrong to have hoped that his generation could prove themselves worthy? That they could finally show their parents and mentors that they were ready to stand on their own against a real opponent?

In the end, they were just children playing soldiers, trying to convince the world they were something that they couldn't be.

There was a fine line between confidence and hubris. If Batman had had any true failings, one of his greatest was his failure to show his protege where that line lay.

As Madame Rouge's arms enclosed him, the Boy Wonder knew it was a lesson learned too late.

 


	4. Duck Tales Theme

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this is in my library. Yes, I am proud of that.

**Duck Tales Theme- Jeff Pescetto**

"Seriously, though, just listen to it! It's totally us! 'Might solve a mystery, or rewrite history.' You can't tell me that's not us!"

Robin tried unsuccessfully to quell the throbbing in his forehead. "For the last time, Beast Boy, that is  _not_  going to be our new theme song."

"But it fits so well! We just replace two syllables!"

" _No_. Now go back to sleep. It's three in the morning. And if you ever use my door override code again for anything that does not constitute an emergency, I will weld your door shut and make you enter and exit your room through the window."

Sighing, Beast Boy wandered out into the hallway. As he closed the door, Robin heard a gravelly voice singing off key. "Ti-Tans! Woooo!"

 


	5. Nerve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love working with characters other than the Titans when the opportunity presents itself, and here it most certainly did. Though I may be giving Trigon more credit than he deserves, I couldn't pass up the idea.

**Nerve- Soilwork**

Trigon the Terrible, the embodiment of purest evil, never wished his daughter harm. The rest of her world could— and would— perish in the fires of his glorious arrival, but she was too dear to him. His gem, his Raven, would forever remain safe with him.

As any father long separated from his child, he felt keenly the years with her he had lost, her childhood stolen by the self-serving monks of Azarath. This problem would be rectified with his coming; his daughter would regress to her childhood years once more, and he would raise her as she should have been— fierce and beautiful, a princess worthy of her father's heritage. Raven would attain more power within the first year of his coming than she could ever have hoped to wield while retaining her humanity. Trigon would see to this personally.

Her fate was inevitable. The venomous script was written and would be performed in its entirety. The prophecy would be fulfilled, and any attempts to stop or delay it would fail. He wished, though, even as he sent his messenger forth, that Raven could understand this as he did.

Trigon loved his daughter, and worlds beyond her imagination would be her reward for just one simple act of obedience.

But however necessary it might be, it pained him to see her suffer.


End file.
